Roll 'Bama Roll

Your Friday Beauty and (Parts of) the Beast

2009-11-20T21:15:09Z

Do Tasmanians eat Vegemite? I hope not...

We have a new winner in terms of horrible taste. Yes friends, dried anchovies are preferable to Vegemite, yet Australians put this stuff on their toast in the morning and use it to make pastries. Seriously Australia, WTF? Enjoy. I didn't.

On the Road Again: (Mis)adventures in Starkville

2009-11-20T18:53:56Z

ed. note: For those of you that picked up a copy of Yea Alabama 2009, you'll remember reading a story I wrote called "The Things We Do For Love" where I chronicled a lot of the ridiculous scenarios I've found myself in while trying to get to various Alabama games. Too bad I didn't save that article for the 2010 edition, because my trip to Starkville this past weekend easily qualified to be in it and hands down would have been the crown jewel anecdote in the article.

Let me just start off by saying that, yes, I realize hitchhiking in this day and age is an exceptionally bad idea. On Saturday, November 14th just a bit before 3:00 p.m. in western Alabama, somewhere between the tiny hamlets of Gordo and Reform (populations of 1,677 and 1,978 respectively according to the 2000 census) my friend Wes' car broke down (some of you may remember Wes from this post.) It's a 21st-century-made specimen of fine German engineering and has faithfully taken us to games in the past. As a matter of fact, the deal I struck with him was I'd give him the game ticket for free if he was willing to drive. That was the level of faith I placed in the ability of his automobile to take us to and fro sans incident.

The car began having trouble accelerating as we rolled down US Highway 82 and we saw a small garage that was still open as we began noticing the problem. We turned around and pulled in just as they were closing up shop. Nice folks that they were looked at the car for a while, but stated they didn't know much about this type of car, but recommended we not drive it any further. They kindly told us we could leave the car there if we wanted to since it was unlikely we'd be able to find anywhere this late in the day on a Saturday that would be able to work on it.

Get-It-Changed Oil & Lube in Gordo, AL

While Wes spoke with the proprietors of the oil change place, I took out my cellphone and began calling everyone I could think of that might be going to the game or who knew someone that might be going to the game. I called comer4tide and chinesedentist, but neither of them were going to the game. Chinesedentist (Bo), said he knew some folks that were going and that he'd make a few calls. I called Alabama ManDance and T.J. from Tower of Bammer and they too got on the phone and started working their contacts. I called a friend that went to Mississippi State, I called Todd and Kleph. I pretty much ran through my entire phonebook.

After what seemed like an eternity of making phone calls, we decided to ditch the car and start walking...with our thumbs out. We knew the car wasn't going to get fixed that day, so we might as well get to the game. We were most of the way there, we already had tickets...it seemed like the logical thing to do.

As I stated at the beginning of this article, hitchhiking is a very bad idea, but here's our rationale for why we felt okay about it. We were decked out head to toe in Bama gear and nearly every car we saw while trying to figure out what to do had Bama flags flying from the windows or Bama magnets on the door or Bama stickers in the windows (and often all three.) By our reckoning, someone in that line of cars would realize that we were fellow fans stuck between a rock and a hard place and that we just wanted to get to the game. After a couple of miles of walking and hundreds of cars passing us by with that "Well, we'd like to help you and we know you're probably okay but sorry we're driving on anyway" look on their faces, we saw a pick-up truck pull into a business a short distance up the road. We both figured it was simply them stopping in to shop, but they turned around and we had a flutter of hope that they were coming back for us.

Alas...they were turning around for us. The gentelman driving the truck asked us if we were headed to the game and when we replied "Yes," he told us to hop in the bed of the truck. We knew we'd found the right people as it was a couple decked out in matching houndstooth hats. They were clearly headed where we were. At this point, I must say that we were elated to have a ride, but didn't really relish the thought of riding in the bed of the truck for nearly 60 miles. Besides it being kind of chilly with that much wind, it isn't exactly the safest thing on earth. What choice did we have though really? We decided to simply laugh it up and make the best of a bad situation. After 10 miles or so, our gracious hosts pulled over at a gas station and let us in the cab of the truck into those tiny little sideways facing seats. Needless to say, it was a bit cramped:

Despite the tight quarters, the trip went by quickly and we were in Starkville before we knew it. It was at this time that our extremely kind chauffeurs Craig and Leigh agreed to pose for a photo on the campus of MSU:

At this point you're probably all thinking, "Yay...they got to the game...end of story." WRONG. We still had no idea how we were getting back to Birmingham at this point. We had managed to find a ride back to Tuscaloosa via some friends of Bo, but weren't exactly sure what to do about the car or the trip to Birmingham. It's at this point that we decided to enjoy the game.

That was soooooooooooo worth all of the hassle so far.

So, we got meet Bo's people after the game and Wes gets on the phone to his mom who has been checking prices on towing during the game. Estimates range between $400-600. Ummm. No. So, Wes gets a friend of ours to bring his mom's SUV down to Tuscaloosa so we can tow it back to Birmingham. Her grandparents live in Tuscaloosa so we get Bo's friends to drop us off at her grandparents' house and we spend the night there.

After a fine homecooked Southern breakfast, Wes and I decide to head over to U-Haul to get the tow trailer. On the way over, we realize that there's a TENNESSEE "T" sticker on the back of Wes' mom's vehicle (she's from Knoxville.) It's been an exhausting ordeal so far...and what was supposed to be a 10-12 hour day trip is turning into an exhausting "way more than 24 hours" adventure. Needless to say, we can't be driving around Tuscaloosa wearing head to toe Bama gear in a car with a Tennessee "T" sticker on it. So, while at the U-Haul place, we come up with a solution:

Needless to say, we were the Kings of Tuscaloosa on Sunday, November 15th. Everywhere we drove in town, we were greeted with honking horns, enthusiastic thumbs up, smiles and the general attitude that what we had done was nothing short of awesome.

After driving back out to Gordo, we hitch the car to the trailer and tow it back to Tuscaloosa to pick up our friend at her grandparents and head back to Birmingham. Needless to say, all of these people are awesome:

At this point, I wish I could say it was as simple as us driving the car to Birmingham, dropping it off at the repair shop and dropping the trailer off at U-Haul....but that would be too easy and too merciful of an end to a pretty brutal day and a half. Nope, it wasn't that simple...at all. U-Haul only had one trailer to rent and someone had it reserved for 7:00 a.m. on Monday, so we couldn't do a one way rental. The trailer had to be returned to Tuscaloosa on Sunday. So Wes had to soldier on after we dropped the car off and do a round trip to Tuscaloosa and back.

So, what should've been a roughly 280 mile round trip turned into a 463 mile excursion to ridiculousness (and back and back again.)

It's at this point that we'd like to thank everyone that helped us out along the way on this road trip either by giving us a ride, feeding us or just checking in on us: Bo, Austin, Baker, TJ, Alabama ManDance, Todd, Wes' mom, Tasha, the grandparents, Craig, Leigh, DJ Bin Rockin', his girlfriend, Mads (from Denmark!), Philo, Matt, Andrew, the guys at "Git-It-Changed" and a whole host of others whose names I didn't catch or can't remember due to the multitude of names. Your kindness is appreciated and hopefully we can pay it back someday.

For those of you reading this, I hope your travels to Bryant-Denny this weekend are infinitely smoother.

ROLL TIDE!

Graduation Success Rates

2009-11-20T15:30:12Z

With Senior Day almost upon us, I though it might be appropriate to consider graduation rates for Crimson Tide football. It just so happens that earlier this week, the NCAA released it's Graduation Success Rate data. While this was met by the usual chorus of praise from the applicable panjandrums it's probably safe to say almost none of us paid much attention to it at the time.

It turns out the numbers are pretty interesting. The graduation rate for the four-class average - the cumulative tally of students entering college between the fall of one year and the fall four years later - for Alabama football has risen steadily over the past half-decade. In fact, as the Tuscaloosa News points out, the GSR numbers for both football and men’s basketball "are higher than the university’s overall graduation rate."

So it seems The Process most certainly does include academics. But then I got to thinking... how does this stack up against the other football programs in the conference? The answer is after the jump.

(click to embiggen)

SEC Football Graduation Success Rates 2005-2009

School	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Alabama	39%	44%	49%	55%	67%
Arkansas	47%	55%	53%	52%	52%
Auburn	59%	63%	59%	57%	59%
Florida	80%	80%	72%	68%	69%
Georgia	45%	41%	41%	48%	57%
Kentucky	57%	55%	59%	56%	55%
LSU	51%	49%	51%	54%	60%
Ole Miss	47%	58%	64%	63%	63%
Miss St.	57%	57%	59%	63%	63%
USC	66%	64%	68%	65%	60%
Tennessee	49%	58%	52%	54%	52%
Vanderbilt	93%	92%	91%	91%	91%

Source: NCAA

Senior Day in Bryant-Denny

2009-11-20T14:00:26Z

by Ed Reinke - AP

Kentucky running back Moncell Allen is tackled by Senior Eryk Anders, bottom, Senior Javier Arenas (28) and Rolando McClain (25) during the first half of the Crimson Tide's victory at Kentucky.

View full size photo »

Saturday morning in Tuscaloosa will feature more than just the game against Tennessee-Chattanooga, for Saturday will also bring Senior Day, and for the senior class this will be their final game in Bryant-Denny Stadium. After spending years and years performing at 100 Bryant Drive, this will be the final time that this senior class will strap it up in front of the home crowd.

Given such an occasion, I think it's only fitting that we should pause for a moment and take a bit of reflection on this class and just how they got here. Things haven't always been easy for this group, and far from it in fact it has almost always been difficult. Most of them weren't very highly-touted recruits, and most of them signed with Alabama when our program was struggling. Adversity has really been a constant for them almost throughout their entire time at the Capstone, and what these men overcame to reach this level should not be forgotten.

Eryk Anders was a one-star recruit coming out of San Antonio that played nose guard in high school at a mere 195 pounds. He didn't get a single offer before Alabama swept in late, and was actually planning on being a walk-on at Ole Miss before Alabama came along in late June of 2005. Coach Saban himself didn't think he'd ever be a contributor when he arrived, and Anders actually told his father he was going to transfer in his hotel room the night of the 2007 Independence Bowl. His father encouraged him to stick with his commitment and get his degree, and he died later that night in his sleep with a heart attack. And Anders not only stuck around, but he came out of nowhere to thrive.

Cory Reamer was a two-star safety out of Hoover who drew little interest from most BCS conference schools. He actually grew up an Auburn fan, but the Tigers signed two more highly-touted safety prospects in the previous class -- Tony Bell and Lorenzo Ferguson, both of which eventually became busts -- and never really gave Reamer much of a look. He signed with Alabama, and then proceeded to blow out his left knee as a true freshman, and when Saban arrived he looked to be the epitome of a player that would get caught in the crunch of systems turnover. Yet Reamer turned into a starter at outside linebacker on an elite defense.

Mike Johnson was a two-star offensive lineman out of Pensacola. He participated on the camp circuits, but no one really ended up biting. Alabama offered and he was Tuscaloosa bound, which was just about the only major school recruiting him. He came out of nowhere in 2007, and will finish his career as a three-year starter and an All-SEC player. A lucrative career in the NFL awaits him when his tour of duty in Tuscaloosa comes to an end.

Javier Arenas was a late signee in the 2006 class. His only other offers were from Florida Atlantic and Florida International, and not only was he not a big deal on the national scene, he really wasn't even a big deal in his hometown of Tampa. Then UA special teams coach Dave Ungerer argued vehemently on his behalf for a scholarship as a returner, and after we missed on some other guys like in that class -- Peanut Whitehead, Tim Hawthorne, and others, most of which turned out to be busts -- we signed Arenas. We signed him thinking he'd be a returner, but since he has became arguably the greatest returner in Alabama history, and an All-SEC defensive back who will play on Sunday.

Drew Davis was a two-star recruit in the 2004 class. He played at a tiny private school, and drew really no interest whatsoever on the recruiting trails. Alabama, in fact, only gave him a greyshirt offer, despite a complete lack of depth along the offensive line, and more than a few 'Bama fans questioned his viability as a legitimate SEC caliber player. And in the first four years of his career, he was an afterthought. But in 2008 he burst onto the scene as a starter, and in 2009 he has been an All-SEC caliber player who has kept at least two five-star prospects sitting on the bench. So much for his viability as an SEC player, eh?

Others went through much of the same. Tyrone King was a walk-on transfer from Grambling... we never recruited him, but he decided to chase a dream anyway. Roy Upchurch has fought through no less than three major surgeries including two season-ending ankle injuries that threatened to end his career before it ever began. Mike McCoy turned down both of his home state schools to play at Alabama, had a redshirt year wasted by the previous coaching staff, and then watched arguably the biggest recruit we've ever had take away his role. Lorenzo Washington spurned his in-state Georgia Bulldogs for 'Bama, then endured a tour of duty at Hargrave, a redshirt year in Tuscaloosa, a major injury, played out of position at nose guard, and found himself relegated to the bench when Terrence Cody arrived. And speaking of Cody, he had to overcome poor academics and poor physical care of himself to be a star, but he conquered both obstacles. Marquis Johnson became the pin cushion for the entire fan base after he was forced into a situation that he never should have been in against Florida State in 2007, but he persevered and turned himself into a fine football player. Justin Woodall was put through pure hell when the hometown homers in Oxford realized he wasn't going to sign with the Rebels. Leigh Tiffin has endured more criticism than any kicker ever should. Ali Sharrief lost his role in the coaching turnover, but he remained a valuable contributor nevertheless. Colin Peek spurned 'Bama the first time around, but nevertheless still ended up in Tuscaloosa. Brandon Deaderick passed up on in-state Kentucky out of high school and turned into a starter at 'Bama. And then he got shot. Twice. And he kicked ass in the Georgia Dome four days later.

Obviously a lot of things have changed in Tuscaloosa the past several years. Most of these players actually signed with Mike Shula. When Lorenzo Washington and Drew Davis signed with the Tide, Alabama was coming off a 4-9 season, ineligible to participate in bowl games, and playing in a stadium that held all of 83,000 people. It had been a mere eight months since Mike Price was fired for his actions with Arety's Angels. Nick Saban, fresh off of a national championship, had signed what most LSU fans hoped would effectively be a lifetime contract to stay in Baton Rouge. Most 'Bama fans at the time were just hoping we could show enough improvement in 2004 to get somewhere like Shreveport or Nashville.

Now, though, Alabama finds itself at the opposite end of the spectrum. Nick Saban now resides in Tuscaloosa, and we look to play for a spot in the national championship game for the second year in a row. At the very least, we'll end up with back-to-back BCS game appearances, and we may very well find ourselves back in Pasadena for the first time an SEC team has made the trek since Frank Thomas' War Babies wrapped up an undefeated season by crushing USC in 1945. Recruiting is better than it has been since the glory days of the Bryant years, and shows no real signs of slowing down any time soon. We've got more top-end talent and quality depth in Tuscaloosa right now than we've had since the late 1970's. And Bryant-Denny Stadium? It will hold over 100,000 people this time next year.

Again, the times have changed in Tuscaloosa, and we should all acknowledge the role that all of these young men played in delivering us out of the dark ages. Our newfound recruiting juggernaut has helped tremendously, of course, but realistically recruiting has a very long lag time before it translates into on-field success -- rest assured, even for an elite recruiting class, players like Julio Jones and Dont'a Hightower are very much rarities -- and if you are going to have success in the interim, you are going to need some otherwise unknowns to turn into high-end players in their own right, and that is exactly what many of these young men have done. It has never been easy for them, but they have persevered in the face of adversity and played an immeasurable role in rebuilding our program.

Moving forward, I have no clue where we will go from here. We will thump Tennessee-Chattanooga and these men will walk out of Bryant-Denny for the final time as winners, that much I know, but after that I really haven't the slightest clue. We'll probably beat Auburn, but who knows? Maybe we fall at the hands of Florida in Atlanta again, maybe we pull off the upset. Maybe we beat Texas in Pasadena, maybe we lose to TCU in the Sugar Bowl. Who knows? Only time will tell for certain.

Regardless of how the season ultimately plays out, though, nothing should take away from what this group has done. They have literally played an instrumental role in rebuilding the Alabama football program back as a national powerhouse, and all those who bleed crimson and white ought to be forever indebted to them for that. If we have had a better senior class than this one in my lifetime, I'm not aware of it. And, moving forward, we can only hope that the senior classes to come can legitimately match what this group has done.

Your RBR Friday Random Ten...

2009-11-20T13:15:19Z

...isn't feeling very clever this week and therefor can't find any obvious jokes/patterns/etc. in this week's offerings. Instead, here's deep fried, bacon wrapped, cheese filled hot dogs.

Would this work as a Taste of the Town? Please say yes...

Y'all know how to play: Put your iPod/iTunes/Zune/whatever on shuffle and list the first ten songs to come up. No cheating to make yours look cooler.

Sad news out of Athens, as according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, UVA VII has died of an...

2009-11-19T22:56:18Z

Sad news out of Athens, as according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, UVA VII has died of an apparent heart attack. The news was totally unexpected, as UGA VII was still young and was in fact in only his second season as mascot.

How Good Do You Want To Be?

2009-11-19T18:31:42Z

The title is a legitimate question, not a lame attempt to knock off our coach's book title, nor an inability on my part to come up with a decent title for this piece. In all seriousness, how good do you want to be?

For Alabama, based on what we have done to date, we're going to have a very positive end result to this season. We know that much already. Even if we don't play particularly well against Tennessee-Chattanooga or Auburn, we probably should nevertheless win both games and finish up 12-0 with back-to-back undefeated regular seasons. So, even if we get smoked by Florida in Atlanta, we still end up making another BCS game and with a win there we finish up #2 in the country. And even if we lose again, life is still pretty much all gravy... we'll easily stay in the top ten, and we'll still be 25-4 over the course of our last 29 games. And, oh yeah, we've got another top five recruiting class on the way in 2010, we'll be in very good shape to win a lot of games in 2010, and for several years after that too. Regardless of how this season finishes up, life is good for a 'Bama fan.

But again, how good do you want to be? Are we going to just be a team that wins a lot of games, or are we legitimately going to take the step to the next level and bring the first national championship to Tuscaloosa in seventeen years? And if your answer to that question is that you want to win a national championship this year, then that changes what you have to do.

Not all national championships are created equal. Each year presents a different set of circumstances, and its immeasurably more difficult to win a national championship in some years than it is in others. And without doubt, it will be tougher to win a national championship this year than it is in most years, and there will clearly be no freebies. We will not be able to lose a couple of games in the regular season and get patsies in the championship games like LSU did in 2007. Nor will we be able to avoid a conference championship game altogether and get a declining Nebraska program -- that couldn't even win its own division -- like Miami did in 2001. No, we're going to have to earn it the hard way... by beating a 12-0 Florida team in Atlanta and then likely topping that by beating a 13-0 Texas team in Pasadena. Again, no freebies this year, we'll have to earn it the hard way.

So, how good do you want to be? And if you want to be that good, you are going to have to accept the reality that you must play at a level commensurate with such accomplishments.

Last weekend against Mississippi State, we won in a relative route, 31-3, in a game that was really never in doubt. But of course, we didn't exactly play perfect football, and far from it in fact we made a lot of mistakes in our own right and took advantage of many mistakes on the Bulldogs' part. Just to name a few of them, they included:

Two long kick returns allowed by our kick coverage unit
A busted assignment in pass coverage by MSU that directly led to a 'Bama touchdown
A missed chip-shot field goal by Mississippi State
An easy touchdown pass missed by Mississippi State when their receiver never looked for the ball
An easy touchdown pass missed by Mississippi State on the opening play by a poorly underthrown ball
A slow start by 'Bama, allowing Mississippi State to drive the football twice early, matched with a three and out by the Tide offense

Now, against Mississippi State, doing things of that nature is fine and dandy because a team like that will often times beat themselves for you and be incapable of taking advantage of the mistakes that you make. But what about an elite team like Florida or Texas? Well, that's simply not going to happen. With the slow start we had, they would have probably gone up 14-0 early. And they probably wouldn't have missed the easy touchdown passes, or the chip-shot field goals, nor would they likely have given up big plays via busted assignments. And you can rest assured that they would have generated at least some points off of the two long returns. Playing like that is just fine against the Mississippi States of the world, but that simply won't cut it against a team like Florida or Texas.

We talked earlier in the year about putting it all together and effectively playing the perfect game. I think the potential is clearly there to do such a thing, but to date we have not done it yet. Nevertheless, that is likely what you will have to do if you want to get to where want to go. And if we cannot do that when the time comes, well... we've been done that route before.

So again, how good do you want to be?

Dan Mullen admits what we already knew about Marquis Johnson

2009-11-19T18:12:24Z

Dan Mullen admits what we already knew about Marquis Johnson

Johnson had a few words with Mullen after the game, but not of the trash-talking variety. Instead, Mullen gave Johnson a certain validation that was genuinely appreciated.

"I went to talk to him after the game, he was like, ‘I don’t know if (Florida is) going to be throwing your way this time,’ and I was like, ‘I appreciate it, sir. You’re not doing anything but getting me better.’"

Mullen’s reference to "this time," of course, was to the Southeastern Conference Championship Game on Dec. 5, where UA and Florida will meet for the second consecutive year.

I asked Gainesville quarterback Blake Sims – arguably the best overall player in the entire state — ...

2009-11-19T16:32:01Z

I asked Gainesville quarterback Blake Sims – arguably the best overall player in the entire state — if there was any chance at all he could end up at Georgia.

"No, sir," the longtime Alabama commitment stated flatly on Wednesday.

"I’m happy about the commitment I made. I’m just ready to go to school up there and just jump on that boat and give everything I have for the Crimson Tide and continue what Coach Saban has started and even more."

Chip Towers: Blake Sims makes it clear: No go for UGA

I wanted to post this one because it certainly seems now like we will fend off attacks from UGA to retain the services of 2010 commitment Blake Sims. This one is huge news because Sims stock just continues to go through the roof. He has lit up the prep world this Fall, and a lot of people think he's the top player in the state of Georgia now. At this point, it wouldn't be a shock to see him end up as a five-star given his rise. Plain and simple, if we can hang onto this one, it's a huge coup for the Tide.

"So you wake up in the morning, you've got to start slapping yourself in the face. It's like, we've...

2009-11-19T16:06:35Z

"So you wake up in the morning, you've got to start slapping yourself in the face. It's like, we've got to get ready to play right now. As opposed to a night game, you get up, you get to yawn, kick your feet up, watch GameDay, go down and get some breakfast and coffee and come back up and chill. It's completely different. Throughout these years, we've learned the difference and we've learned to cope with each of them. I wake up at 6 o'clock every morning. Kareem (Jackson, his roommate) doesn't like that much, but he's got to deal with it."

Don Kausler Jr: A Friday in the life of a football team

Kausler has a great article up over at al.com that goes in-depth breaking down all of what the team goes through on Friday before a game. It's a must-read for any 'Bama fan.

"We keep saying he's day-to-day. He doesn't seem to be getting any better. It's very painful, very...

2009-11-19T15:55:39Z

"We keep saying he's day-to-day. He doesn't seem to be getting any better. It's very painful, very debilitating in terms of what you can do and how painful it is, especially with exercise. It's very hard to diagnose, and the treatment has gone slow."

Gentry Estes: Abdominal injury continues to sideline Tide's Terry Grant

As usual, that comes straight from Coach Saban per Gentry, and I must say that things don't look good for Grant at this point. I certainly don't want to needlessly speculate, but at the same time I cannot help but wonder if this is not a sports hernia injury. The whole abdominal strain / not getting better line just seems awfully reminiscent of past players with sports hernia injuries, and I know those are particularly hard to diagnose. One way or the other, though, hopefully Grant gets better soon.

"Fluker has done a lot, lost a lot of weight, got in a lot better shape and does a good job every...

2009-11-19T05:05:50Z

"Fluker has done a lot, lost a lot of weight, got in a lot better shape and does a good job every day against the first-team defense. But so do the other three offensive linemen that are over there on that field, and they have made a lot of improvement and done a really good job for us.

Eddie Lacy is the scout team running back. Of all the people, that's probably the toughest job, because he gets the ball a lot, he gets hit a lot, he gets banged around a lot, and he makes a lot of plays.

Don Kausler Jr: Saban talks about Fluker, Stinson, Lacy and other freshmen on scout team

That comes directly from Coach Saban, and it's good to hear that the scout team guys are making such good progress. It's hard to believe, but we've reached a point to where our scout team features a lot of highly-touted guys who could have gone anywhere in the country, many of which will ultimately play on Sunday one day.

The RBR Radio Hour(ish) Is Upon Us!

2009-11-19T00:03:17Z

Coming at you live from our state of the art broadcasting facilities buried deep within Red Mountain!

It's about that time, kids. 8:00pm CST is the time, TalkShoe is the place. Join us in the chat, or listen in below.

A Look Back at Coach Frank Thomas

2009-11-18T17:38:51Z

On Jan. 10, 1925, the University of Chattanooga (which later became UT Chattanooga) announced the hire of a new head coach, a relatively obscure Georgia assistant named Frank Thomas - a man who would later go on to become a legend of Alabama football.

Thomas had been a quarterback at Notre Dame under the legendary Knute Rockne who called him "the smartest player I ever coached." That was good enough for Georgia's George Woodruff. In 1923, he offered Thomas $2,500 a year to be his backfield coach and bring the "Notre Dame Box" to Athens.

Thomas accepted partially for the money and partially to try his hand at coaching. "I took the job to pay off my [school] debts," he said. "Besides, I wanted to try coaching for a year. If I didn't like it, I could always quit and practice law."

But it turned out he liked it quite a bit, enough to consider being a head coach when offered the chance by Chattanooga a year later. Although reportedly unimpressed with the quality of talent, he took the job as it represented his first head coaching opportunity.

He took over a squad that had won a single game the season prior and had little prospect for better in 1925. Yet Thomas led them to a 4-4 record in 1925 and then to dominance of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA).

His teams tied for the SIAA championship in 1926 and won the title in 1927 and 1928. He lost just three games in his last two seasons at Chattanooga - two of those to then-powerhouse Vanderbilt.

In 1929, Thomas returned to Georgia as an assistant under his former Notre Dame teammate Harry Mehre. His return to Athens was for a single season as Alabama's head coach Wallace Wade personally selected Thomas to succeed him at the Capstone.

Wade had taken the program to the Rose Bowl and it's first national title four years prior. He had taken the head coach position at Duke but remained at Alabama for the 1930 season and invited Thomas to join his staff to ease the transition.

It turned out to be a fateful year. Alabama went undefeated, returned to the Rose Bowl to defeat Washington State and took the national championship. Nine days later Frank Thomas took over as head coach of the Crimson Tide.

Over the next 14 years Thomas extended Alabama's tradition of dominating defenses, winning records and national championships. His teams allowed an average of just 6.3 points per game and his win percentage trails only that of his protégée and eventual successor, Paul W. Bryant.

Yet even Bryant was unable to boast never having a losing season, something Thomas achieved beginning with that first squad in Chattanooga.

Standing at his own 20-yard line, Belue fielded the punt, broke six tackles and raced 80 yards for...

2009-11-18T16:45:15Z

Standing at his own 20-yard line, Belue fielded the punt, broke six tackles and raced 80 yards for his final score of the game.

It marked the sixth straight game in which he has returned either a punt or kickoff for a touchdown.

The Times Daily: Belue leads Tigers to victory

That is referencing 2010 commitment Deion Belue. All I can say is that you can feel pretty confident that he will be getting a long look to replace Javier Arenas next year.

MBB: Alabama 86, Jackson State 69

2009-11-18T15:59:48Z

Newcomers help Grant claim first Alabama win

Box score and play-by-play

Behind 23 points in 24 minutes off the bench by freshman Tony Mitchell, the Alabama men's basketball team evened their record at 1-1 last night, securing Anthony Grant's first win as Alabama head coach. The Tide only led by five at the break, but pulled away in the second half thanks to Mitchell and fellow newcomer Charvez Davis. Davis, a JUCO transfer, had 16 points in only 19 minutes, also off the bench. JaMychal Green and Mikhail Torrance chipped in with thirteen apiece, and Torrance added eight assists.

Anthony Brock, who started the opener, has been suspended indefinitely from "all basketball activities" for a violation of team rules. Torrance, who was going to play in crunch time anyway, started in his place.

The Tide was outrebounded, 42-32. Unusually for a SWAC team, JSU had a decided height advantage, starting a 6-10 center and three other players 6-6 or taller. Alabama countered much of the night with a small lineup with only one inside player and the 6-6 Mitchell playing power forward. Grant Maxey, the preseason SWAC player of the year, played only three minutes for JSU...

The Tide did much better defending (4-14) and shooting (7-17) the three than in the opener. The biggest problem, other than the rebounds, was foul shooting, as they hit only 19-32 (59%).

Like the Gators, Alabama gets everyone's best shot. The difference is that Bama knocks out their...

2009-11-18T14:18:57Z

Like the Gators, Alabama gets everyone's best shot. The difference is that Bama knocks out their opponent and UF goes 12 rounds and leaves in the judges' hands.--Alligator Army

SEC Power Poll Week 11 - Team Speed Kills

Submit Your Questions for "Hey Todd!"

2009-11-18T13:15:09Z

If it's Wednesday, then it's time once again for the RBR Radio Hour(ish). With the mighty Mocs of UT-Chattanooga coming to town, we shouldn't be spending a whole lot of time previewing, but we've still got that whole State win to talk about, plus happenings and goings on from around the SEC. Also, Todd's Taste of the (Horrible) Town with an assist from kleph, whom I now hate. So get those questions in, and join us tonight at 8pm CST over at TalkShoe.

For once I kind of wish the mysterious package at my doorstep was a bomb...

Alabama senior linebacker Eryk Anders returned full-speed to practice today and said he plans to...

2009-11-18T03:17:32Z

Alabama senior linebacker Eryk Anders returned full-speed to practice today and said he plans to play Saturday against UT-Chattanooga despite a lingering right ankle sprain.

Anders was restricted from contact during Monday's practice. He said the ankle has "been hurting off and on since (the) South Carolina (game)."

Gentry Estes: Tide LB Anders says he's 'good to go' for UTC game

MBB: Anthony Brock suspended indefinitely

2009-11-18T03:15:18Z

MBB: Anthony Brock suspended indefinitely

Brock started the opener, and was the team's best outside shooter. More tomorrow.